Naps, alarm or nap roulette?

[Dtail]

Nap roulette for me around 3 days a week. Ends up usually around 20 minutes.
Truly one of the benefits of retirement.

 

[Austin704]

I grew up close with my grandfather, who napped every day around noon for about an hour. I guess I learned the pleasure of napping from him because I nap every chance I get. Usually I come home from work for lunch and power off for about 20 minutes with no alarm. That’s about my limit unless I’m really tired or not feeling well. This habit goes back to my 20s, when I had a lot more energy, and continues into my 50s. FWIW I don’t use an alarm to wake up in the morning either. Around 5 years ago I found it was not necessary—I just wake up around 6 every day no matter what time I go to bed. This will change in retirement.

 

[W2R]

I nap about 4 days a week, or so, but it is never intentional; no alarm. I just accidentally fall asleep in my easy chair. Usually it is just for a half hour or so, and it is simply wonderful.

 

[brucethebroker]

Isn't naps when one wants for how long one wants one of the bennies of retirement? I play nap roulette, anywhere from 15 minutes to a couple of hours.

+1.

 

[Nick12]

When I was much heavier I used to take naps after stuffing my face with too much food. Now after losing 40 pounds thru the years I only take cat naps if I did not get a good nights sleep the night before.

 

[Lewis Clark]

I don't sleep well at night and enjoy naps most days.

Most often I set an alarm, usually 20 - 30 minutes. Sometimes I set an alarm for a longer nap, usually no more than one hour. Often as not I'll wake up refreshed before the alarm goes off.

Occasionally when I have no plans that day, I play nap roulette and surprise myself by sleeping between 1 - 2 hours. Those can be nice!

 

[Music Lover]

I'm very fortunate in that I sleep very well and can also have a nap at the drop of a hat. I always wake up early regardless of what time I go to bed so I will nap if I've been up late. I lay down and 5 minutes later I'm napping for 45 or so minutes and then I wake up refreshed. In fact, I'll lay down for a nap at 1:00 knowing I have to leave the house at 2:00 and never need an alarm to wake up.

 

[SumDay]

Another proud serial napper here too. Every danged day (if possible) and 99% of the time my eyes pop open in 20 minutes from my afternoon nap. If it lasts longer than that, it's because I'm coming down with something and I just go with the flow.

I was blessed/cursed with a crazy accurate internal clock. If I need to set an alarm for 4 a.m. to catch a plane, I am awake at 3:45. I can't recall the last time I woke up to an alarm from a nap or a full night of sleep.

 

[Bamaman]

I only sleep 5 hours at a time--up by 5:00 am most mornings. I love my 11:00 am and/or 5:00 pm naps, depending on how busy I am.

Spring is a tough time doing yardwork, cutting trees and prepping our lake house for inhabitance. Hard to keep up the pace without a little rest.

 

[pacergal]

DH is able to fall asleep and nap quickly, be refreshed in about 20 minutes.
Me? I never took naps as it messed with my sleep. But now retired, I have found myself to be able to nap occasionally and not worry about sleep that night. If i feel tired and can fall asleep for a nap, why not? Most times about 30 minutes, more if I am really tired.
The wonderful pleasure of retirement!!

 

[rayinpenn]

If I nap I usually sleep for an hour to an hour and a half.. then I go to bed the normal time and sleep well. It can be associated with an early AM old pooch scratch...

 

[irishgal]

Fitbit sleep stage tracking helps me know if a nap might be in order on a given day. My sleep sweet spot is 7.5-8 hrs overnight and if a good portion of that is in deep sleep it’s a good predictor of a well-rested feeling. Otherwise, nappies!

That's interesting, I have been thinking of getting one of those.

 

[irishgal]

DH is able to fall asleep and nap quickly, be refreshed in about 20 minutes.
Me? I never took naps as it messed with my sleep. But now retired, I have found myself to be able to nap occasionally and not worry about sleep that night. If i feel tired and can fall asleep for a nap, why not? Most times about 30 minutes, more if I am really tired.
The wonderful pleasure of retirement!!

I wish I was one of those people who could fall asleep quickly!

 

[irishgal]

I don't sleep well at night and enjoy naps most days.

Most often I set an alarm, usually 20 - 30 minutes. Sometimes I set an alarm for a longer nap, usually no more than one hour. Often as not I'll wake up refreshed before the alarm goes off.

Occasionally when I have no plans that day, I play nap roulette and surprise myself by sleeping between 1 - 2 hours. Those can be nice!

Nice!

 

[TromboneAl]

You guys are doing it wrong. Try this:

1. Get sleepy
2. Take caffeine pill(s)
3. Take nap
4. Wake up refreshed twenty to thirty minutes later.

Seriously, I find that I'm much more refreshed after one of these power naps.

 

[irishgal]

You guys are doing it wrong. Try this:

1. Get sleepy
2. Take caffeine pill(s)
3. Take nap
4. Wake up refreshed twenty to thirty minutes later.

Seriously, I find that I'm much more refreshed after one of these power naps.

You are a madman lol. What kind of caffeine pills? In grad school we all used to take Midol believe it or not, because it was full of caffeine.

 

[TromboneAl]

I currently have these:

But I'm going to get some 100 mg and some 200 mg pills with just caffeine. An 8 oz cup of Starbucks has 160 mg.

My system:

6 am: 4 oz coffee
9 am: 100 mg caffeine in pill
1:30 pm: 100 mg caffeine in pill
1:31 pm: Nap

It has made me more productive in terms of writing, and I avoid that draggy feeling after waking up from a nap.

The brilliance of the coffee nap is that sleep naturally clears Adenosine from your brain!

From the moment you drink your coffee to the moment you metabolize it is about 20 minutes of pure opportunity to not only rest, but to open up those Adenosine receptors to the caffeine you just imbibed.[2]

It’s like rolling out a welcome mat just for your coffee. What could be better?

 

[irishgal]

I currently have these:

But I'm going to get some 100 mg and some 200 mg pills with just caffeine. An 8 oz cup of Starbucks has 160 mg.

My system:

6 am: 4 oz coffee
9 am: 100 mg caffeine in pill
1:30 pm: 100 mg caffeine in pill
1:31 pm: Nap

It has made me more productive in terms of writing, and I avoid that draggy feeling after waking up from a nap.

The brilliance of the coffee nap is that sleep naturally clears Adenosine from your brain!

From the moment you drink your coffee to the moment you metabolize it is about 20 minutes of pure opportunity to not only rest, but to open up those Adenosine receptors to the caffeine you just imbibed.[2]

It’s like rolling out a welcome mat just for your coffee. What could be better?

This is genius. Recalling my neuroscience coursework it makes sense and is spot on.
Now I’m going to have to try this...

 

[Sarah in SC]

There’s a long advocated plan that says to drink a cup of coffee and then settle in for a nap, as the caffeine will kick in to prevent the nap running too long and messing up your nighttime sleep pattern. Usually at about 15-20 minutes.

And don’t get a Fitbit if you have terrible sleep. I have used one for a couple of years and it is disheartening to know I average 5 hours a night of restful sleep.

I nap several times a week out of desperation, just trying to wring out a bit more rest.

Also have resorted to sleeping on the couch in my office at lunchtime sometimes when work is slow—no alarm needed, as the phone ringing (or more embarrassingly, the UPS man) wakes me up!

 

[BuysToys]

Put me in with the serial nappers! I play nap roulette most days. Lately it's been closer to 2 hour naps, but I'm also on medications that make me drowsy. The extra sleep is appreciated.

 

[folivier]

I enjoy my naps also. But never set an alarm. Alarms aren't conducive to successful retirement.

 

[sengsational]

For those that don't want too much caffeine, my technique involved tea. No need to make it too strong, but if you drink enough and because it's a diuretic, you'd get another wake up signal

 

[DisneyDreamer]

Frequent napper checking in. I snooze for an hour after work. Alarm, definately! Prevents "napcidents" (sleeping too long).

 

[audreyh1]

It's one of my secret luxuries, taking a short nap a few times a week. I wonder if others do this as well, and most important, do you set an alarm, naturally wake after a short time, or play the dreaded "nap roulette" where you take a nap with the possibility of waking in 20 min or 3 hours?

Definitely nap roulette!

But I use an alarm for overnight sleep.

 

[misanman]

A full sleep cycle is said to be 90 minutes so you might want to shoot for naps of that duration to avoid an interrupted sleep cycle.